urn:taro:utexas.cah.01862A Guide to the Joseph Tweedy Papers, 1876-1899, 1908Original EAD encoding by Megan Mummey according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing
Instructions. August 2010Finding aid written in English.
Descriptive Summary
Tweedy, JosephTweedy, Joseph, Papers1876-1899,
1908Materials are written in English.64-128; 66-024; 66-060; 66-0663 1/2 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at AustinCorrespondence, a diary, and photographs comprise the Joseph Tweedy Papers,
1876-1899, 1908, and relate to the activities of Tweedy’s Knickerbocker Ranch near San Angelo,
Texas.
Biographical Note

Pioneer sheep rancher Joseph Tweedy (1849-1928) was born in New York City in 1849.
Tweedy helped run the family business, the clothing manufacturing firm Schepflin,
Baldwin, and Tweedy, until 1876 when he, Joel Barlow Reynolds, and Morgan and
Lawrence Grinnell sailed from New York City to Galveston. They purchased several
herds of sheep and settled near Fort Concho in what became Tom Green County in 1877,
eventually turning the area into an international wool production center. Tweedy’s
ranch, The Knickerbocker Ranch on Dove Creek, eventually became the town of
Knickerbocker. Tweedy founded the Wool Grower’s Association at San Angelo in 1881
and became its first president. In 1885, Tweedy started the San Jose Irrigation
Company, one of the earliest irrigation enterprises in Texas. Additionally, Tweedy
served as Tom Green County commissioner, a bank director, and a civic leader in San
Angelo, Texas.

Correspondence, a diary, and photographs comprise the Joseph Tweedy Papers,
1876-1899, 1908, and relate to the activities of Tweedy’s Knickerbocker Ranch near San Angelo,
Texas. The papers contain Tweedy’s letters from 1876 to 1885, pertaining to his
migration to Texas and his establishment of a West Texas sheep ranch. Additionally,
the papers include letters from his partner, E. M. Grinnell, and letters from Joel
Barlow Reynolds’ son, Sam W. Reynolds. E. M. Grinnell’s letters concern his
involvement in Tweedy’s sheep ranch. Sam W. Reynold’s letters, written to his
parents in 1908, pertain to his work on the ranch during that summer. The papers
also contain a transcript of Joel Barlow Reynolds’ diary, kept from 1876 to 1877,
describing the boat voyage to Texas from New York and his first year raising sheep
in Texas. The undated photographs depict Joseph Tweedy.

Joseph Tweedy Papers, 1876-1899, 1908, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of
Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Chester V. Kielman, July 1964. Subsequent revisions were made by Walter H. Richter, September 1965 and July 1966.

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.